Dairy allegy/intolerance in breastfed babies

I have a suspicion that DD (5 months, not yet on solids) could have a dairy sensitivity. She is exclusively BF and when I have milk/cheese she seems to suffer from a lot of tummy discomfort and excessive possetting. I have cut down on (but not cut out completely) dairy products and she generally seems to feed much better.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone whose DC is dairy sensitive (allergic or intolerant) and what symptoms were present (if any) when they were breastfeeding. I am really worried that she might turn out to be allergic once we introduce solids.

i didn't really notice when just bf but my ds was always a poor sleeper. now 7 mths, when i give him less than 1 oz of formula he does loads of sick and gets a rash, yoghurt gives him diarhoea, weaning is a complete nightmare. no advice but watching this thread hopefully

DD had bad eczema and also diarrhoea. She was exclusively bf up to 6 months. Once I realised she was allergic to milk at about 7 months I cut it out of my diet and her eczema completely vanished (diarrhoea ha already gone anyway). If you cut down the amount of dairy you have, make sure you replace with calcium-enriched soya milk or take calcium supplements - v important while bfing as otherwise your body takes it from your bones/teeth!

I cut out dairy 100% to start with, to see if it helped her skin, and the effect was so amazing that I carried on for a few months. (With the help of Nairns mixed berry oat biscuits and Green & Blacks chocolate ).

I've relaxed my diet a bit now but I'm still having soya milk instead of regular.

When you come to weaning your DD, you'll find there are lots of different theories around as to whether you should introduce or avoid potential allergens so it's hard to know what to do. DD had skin prick testing at the Evelina Children's Hospital in London as part of the LEAP Study (about peanut allergy) and their advice was to introduce all potential allergens nice and young and just monitor the effects, as there is no evidence that delaying introducing certain foods reduces the risk of developing an allergy. So that's what I've gone along with as I feel happy with that advice, but the dietician locally told me the total opposite so it's hard to know what's best! Try to prepare yourself for the fact that there are lots of different opinions on this subject and unfortunately no one knows the 'right' answer yet.

Same experience with my DD1 - had to cut out dairy completely from my diet or she was so sick she was losing weight. It was really hard but stuck with it until I had to return to work and dietician prescribed Neocate Infant (she wouldn't accept Nutramigen). I am proud I stuck with bfing but it was a relief when she switched to formula and I could eat what I liked again. I found oat milk and cream a far more acceptable substitute to soya milk (DD also allergic to the proteins in soya so would throw up with this too), and my hubby still prefers it on his cereal. Strange bloke...

My DS2 is allergic to dairy, egg, wheat & soya. I'm still breastfeeding him at 10 months and have cut all of these things from my diet. Before the exclusion diet he had severe eczema, nappy rash, wouldn't sleep for longer than 2 hours and there was lots of backarching when feeding.

If you do decide to cut dairy out and are struggling with biscuits etc, Hobnobs are dairy free and a lifesaver for me .

Ds1 was almost exclusively breastfed (given formula at the hospital and once thereafter when I was worried I wasn't making enough milk ). After the second time having formula he had diarrhea with green mucus in it so I didn't give it again. He never had any noticeable adverse reaction to my breastmilk even though I ate a lot of cheese (no asthma, eczema, digestive trouble, sleep disturbance etc) but reacted to his first exposure to milk when weaning (hives and vomiting).

He was always able to tolerate things like biscuits with milk in them but we avoided these until he was 2. He has just outgrown his milk allergy at age 2.11mo

I suggest that you delay introducing dairy and when you do, start with 'cooked' milk as in cake etc, then cheese, before trying milk itself.

Our DD developed bad eczema and we decided to try different exclusion diets (GP insisted that my diet would not affect DD, i.e. nothing would get into the milk). Milk and egg have now been tested as positive allergens and she reacts to soya, beans and legumes. Extended BF to stay away from formula... it's going to be an expensive shopping bill when she's independent!!! Already planning the meals

you don't necessarily have to cut out dairy. You could try adding probiotics and/or lactase to your diet instead. Every breastfeeding mother would do well to take probiotics themselves as there is evidence that reduces the risk of eczema and it may reduce the risk of allergies. Lactase helps digest lactose.

I had to cut out dairy totally until dd outgrew her intolerance at 20 months, as even a tiny bit would set her off. She had an upset tummy, horrendous nappy rash that wouldn't clear, and was totally miserable, screaming for around 20 hours a day (no exaggeration!).